Approval due for school games area despite protest

Plans to build a new games area at a Sheffield primary school have been recommended for approval.

Ecclesall Primary School submitted plans to replace the playing fields with a multi-use games area, prompting about 100 objections and a protest last year.

The school, on High Storrs Road, said the existing grass field had drainage and ground issues which rendered it unusable in heavy rainfall.

Planning officers backed the scheme after plans to include a 100m running track along the eastern boundary were removed. Sheffield City Council is due to give its decision next week.

The council received 117 responses to the plans during public consultation - with only 12 in support and four neutral, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Sheffield Hallam MP Olivia Blake, councillors Shaffaq Mohammed and Barbara Masters, and the Millhouses, Ecclesall and Carter Knowle Community Group all voiced opposition to the plan.

Concerns raised included potential drainage and flooding issues, overdevelopment, noise, increased traffic, loss of privacy and the impact on green space.

The school has since revised its plan to remove the running track, which would have run alongside properties on neighbouring Edale Road.

A final decision will be made by Sheffield City Council's planning committee on Tuesday.

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